Darn Good Yarn Wins a Darn Good Award

Nicole Snow is a crafty lady. ” My mom had a craft corner in our basement and it was Nicole-a-fied up! I had my crayons, my markers, all my glue and I was happy as anything,” said Snow. She went to college for business and was an officer in the US Air Force, but crafting was always her passion. ” You can make any of your dreams come true because now I work fulltime and I get to play with yarn all day,” said Snow with a smile. One day, she decided she could perfect an idea that’s been around for a while. ” I’ll get like 600 to 1,000 pounds of yarn at a time at the top of the driveway that’s really steep and I’ll lug it all in myself and inventory it, count it up, put it in here, organize it,” said Snow. It’s reclaimed silk, cotton, and linen from India. ” they go into these manufacturing plants and they collect the silk that would otherwise be disposed of, so it’s new silk,” explained Snow. Last year, she saved 10,000 pounds of silk waste from going into landfills. ” We’re reclaiming it and turning it into something awesome for people who make jewelry, rug hooking, knitting, and crocheting, everything like that,” said Snow. Her company is Darn Good Yarn, and she’s getting a lot of attention from customers worldwide. ” They make hats, they make purses, they make jewelry lines. I work with a lot of independent artists all over the place, ” said Snow. Recently, she entered the FedEx Small Business Grant Contest. ” I said, well, I think I have a shot at this,” said Snow. She plugged it on Facebook, and ended up with nearly 6,000 votes. She had to give a presentation to the corporate board, and then, she got the $25,000 call. ” I was like, oh wow! My gosh! It was really crazy,” said Snow. She’s never taken out a business loan, it’s all been self-funded, so $25,000 is a huge help. ” I can grow product lines, but more importantly I’m going to be able to employ more people, not just in India, but here in Maine, ” explained Snow. She has dreams of weaving even more into her business and wants everyone to know about Darn Good Yarn. ” Man, she has really good products, really good stories and I know I’m helping someone somewhere in the world,” said Snow. So far, she’s doing a darn good job. For more information on Darn Good Yarn, click here.